Luckless
by MakBlaze6
Summary: Rewrite of Change of Fate. There's nothing like getting sent to the super-wonderful-amazing world of Ylisse, home to magic, dragons, and lots and lots of blue-haired sword wielders. Unfortunately for me, I have the unfortunate side-effect of being placed into my own fanfiction. How badly is this going to end?
1. Tired

**A/N: What?**

 **What?**

 **What in the world?!**

 **You're doing this rewrite?!**

 **Yes, you whopping two people that remember this story existed.  
**

 **I mean, sure, most of you probably don't care about Awakening Self Insert #1000, but in my defense I wrote the original story in 2013. So, it's not like I'm hopping onto a dead fad or anything.**

 **... Right...?**

 **But... Hey. This is not just a rewrite. This is more of a re-imagining. The story is going to be way more fleshed out, less rushed. Hell, even some new plotlines entirely. After all, my writing has improved... I think. I'll be honest, I'm still not the best, but at least my writing isn't completely cringeworthy.  
**

 **But yeah. I'll include a few more new OCs, and change and remove some of the existing ones. They'll be way less generic and I'll get to flesh each of them out a bit more. Because even though I haven't written a single story in almost two years, I have still managed to improve my storytelling skills!  
**

 **Also I'm sorry I haven't updated Forgotten Dreams. Writer's Block is a form of rabies.**

* * *

 _Awaken._

A voice echoes through my mind.

As I slowly open my eyes, a powerful ray of sunlight blinds me.

And so it's morning.

I shift uncomfortably to my side, before allowing my eyes for slowly flutter closed.

I hate mornings.

 _ **Awaken.**_

Um...

What?

My eyes shoot open, quickly scanning the area around me.

Wait a second.

This is not my room.

Nor is it in that weird apartment that I have to sleep in because house fire sucks...

And wait,

Is this even a real bed?!

I slowly lean up, examining my sleeping area.

...

Are you telling me that I slept on an old wooden box filled with straw?

And I am used to it?

I sigh.

It's best I find out what's going on...

I look up and around the room that I am in. It looks... Ancient.

I mean, there are bricks... I think... But, there isn't much in here.

Just a wooden table and wooden chairs.

...The most uncomfortable kind, of course.

WAIT.

THERE'S A COUPLE OF SWORDS ON THE TABLE. HOLY DAMN YES!

I rush over to the table and examine the blade.

Steel. Leather hilt. Blade length approximately twenty-five inches.

...

How do I know that?

Eh, could be iron...

But who cares?

I unsheathe the sword and hold it out in front of me.

Damn. This thing is cool...

I swing it a bit, lightly chuckling at the sound of the parting air.

I've always wanted to learn how to use one of these...

Swords have always been my favorite weapon. I dunno why. I guess it's just because of how iconic it is. It feels noble.

...

I should probably stop swinging this sword around and actually bother finding out what's going on.

I mean, it's not like I'm in a completely unknown house for know reason.

Y'know... Unless I'm in another world.

...Finally...

Er

Ahem.

Yeaaaaah. I should go find out what's going on.

I look at the blade one last time, admiring the shininess of it.

Heh.

I lean the sword a bit, my reflection soon appearing in front of it.

...

Excuse me?

What the actual hell?

I turn around, making sure that there wasn't a complete stranger behind me.

I look back down at the sword.

There is literally no way that is my face.

Okay, for starters, I don't have that pale of skin... I mean, I used to... but then it took so long to finally get my tan, but... I don't even...

And where did my freckles go? I'm a redhead.

...Er, auburn I guess?

 **BUT THAT DOESN'T MATTER.** Why are my freckles gone, and replaced the most smooth looking face I have ever seen?

I slowly place a hand on my face.

...My skin is pretty soft, actually...

 **AUGH.**

 **UNIMPORTANT.**

But.. At least my hair is still the same.

Y'know... The one feature about myself that I actually like.

...I suppose I'm a bit taller, and a bit more slim... And, DAMN. My facial features do look a bit more defined. My face isn't really chubby like it used to be!

Was I in a coma for a couple of years?

A coma that somehow removed my freckles?

And made me sexy?

I mean, maybe that could be possible...

Because I do look a bit older...

But... Everything around me looks a little... Simple. I don't know how to describe it. Things just... Don't look completely normal...

I mean, A lot of stuff looks kinda outline-ey, the more I look at it...

Weird.

I sigh, spotting a window on the other side of the room.

...

 **UNLESS...**

pleaseletitbetruepleaseletitbetruepleaseletitbetruepleaseletitbetrue

I slowly approach the window.

pleaseletitbetruepleaseletitbetruepleaseletitbetruepleaseletitbetruepleaseletitbetrue

I open it.

...

Uh

Augh

Um

Eh

Ee

Ah

Wh-

Wha-

I...

Ylisse.

The Ylisse is real.

What is this?

I

I

I don't know.

I think... I think.. I need to lie down for a second... Think this all through...

* * *

"...Al..."

I sigh, staring into the blackness in front of me.

Soooo... I'm... Dreaming... I guess?

Or is this the part where the otherworldly being tells me his intentions?

...

Nothing?

Okay...

I guess I'll just-!

"Hello?" I mutter, as a large grey orb appears in front of me.

... What?

The orb sort of just floats there... Not making a noise, simply a sphere with countless images swirling across it.

Yet its full of static. Like one of those old televisions, except there are tons of different screens scattered across the surface of the sphere, and each one has something different going on.

I... Can't really make out any of it... It's going by all too fast. But... I think I see a few human shapes... Nobody I can recognize, though...

I look up from the orb, staring around at the floating black expanse around me.

"Sooooo... Do I have to touch it...?" I ask to whatever divine being may be listening.

...

Nothing. Thought so...

Well, I suppose it's worth a-!

* * *

 _ **"Is what you are doing truly right?"**_

 _ **"Do it!"**_

 _ **"Tsk. You are a fool."**_

 _ **"How could you-?!"**_

 _ **"Augh!"**_

 _ **"Keep fighting!"**_

 _ **"It's up to you, man."**_

 _ **"Welcome to the-!"**_

 _ **"Is this your destiny?!"**_

 _ **"Man, I'm starving."**_

 _ **"Die!"**_

 _ **"AWAKEN."**_

* * *

try...?!

I... Uh...

Eh? I'm back on the bed...

"Ravel!" I hear a set of booming footsteps approach.

...Uh

"Where have you been?!" A large, unshaven man bursts into the room.

"I... Uh... What?"

"Don't you I- Uh- What- me young man! You were supposed to be working in the forge hours ago!"

F-Forge?

The man grabs my hand and drags me up onto my feet and out of the room.

* * *

"Ugh, son! You've hardly been working and you are already breaking a sweat!"

Huff... I... Ugh... What do I even do...?

"I... Eugh..." I let go of the shovel in my hand, stopping to catch my breath. This work is actually really tough... And the heat... OH GODS, THE HEAAAT.

I said gods. You know what? I don't care.

"You know what? You don't seem to be working very efficiently... Just go ahead to town. I'll do the work. Here. Take these bullions. I need some more coals anyways..."

"Y-Y-Yes... Father..."

* * *

Y'know, when I pictured being dropped into a world of fantasy and adventure, I didn't really picture myself sitting in a line waiting to buy coals from some giant Scottish guy.

Yeah. Apparently Scotland transcends the fabric of reality and appears in the world of Fire Emblem. Your guess is as good as mine.

"Next!" The large, bearded man yells.

I groan, as the line shortens by another person.

So... I've managed to piece my situation together... I think.

I wrote a really terrible Awakening story years ago. Obviously, I never published it. It was back when I was younger, and more naive, and more stupid, and blah blah etc. Man, I was really obsessed with Awakening at the time.

Meanwhile I played Fates nonstop for two days and proceeded to get burned out on it. How tragic.

Now that I think about it... That seems to happen a lot...

But damn.

The square's crowded as hell.

It's hot as hell.

Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if Satan went and drug me down to hell right about now.

Is that what this is? Purgatory? Did I die in my sleep and wake up in some weird realm where my soul has to grow and realize that this fantasy dreamer stuff is really cliched and even though I am still in high school that does not mean that some anime crazy Deus Ex Machina is going to come out and make me into an awesome Masked Justice Guy?

 _Uh... No?_

What.

"What." I repeat, this time actually saying it out loud.

The scrawny little man beside me turns to face me. "Excuuuuuse me?"

I quickly cover my mouth to prevent laughter.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch the loud snort that came out of my mouth first.

Aaaaaand... Now the entire square is staring at me...

U-Uh-Uhm... Everyone...

And... I'm blushing... Oh gosh... This is awkward...

"O-Oh... Uhmm... Sorry for the..." I mutter.

"Really now? So you think I'm juuuuust funny business, do ya surry?"

Heh.. Couldn't help it... He just... His voice is... Hehehe...

Wait...

"Surry?"

The scrawny man grunts. He... Actually looks kinda like a pig... Pink clothes, bald, fat head, he even has the nose. Hah.

"Yah. Surry. You gots a problem with that, mister tomato?"

...

"Eh... Are you drunk?"

Aaand, now he's mad.

Aaaaaaaaaaand, now he's shoving me.

"Wuzzat then? You think I'm drunk? Aren't you just a rude little apprentice, thinking you alls high and mighty on your teensy little wooden chair." He laughs, a stupid-looking smirk appearing on his fat face.

You know, I could punch him in the face...

I mean, sure, I'm not an angry person in general, I'm not particularly violent...

And I really don't ever get mad-

Except for when certain someones try and make me think they love me and then they-...

Yeah. Alright. So I do get mad. I think I can get mad again.

"Awwww... That's an awful lot of words for someone who wallows in mud all day." I say with a large grin on my face.

Oh. Right. I don't get violent. I just get incredibly passive-aggressive.

"Oh really now? Maybe you should pull summa them swords outta your arse."

"Oh reaaaaally? Perhaps-!"

"NEXT!" The Scottish clerk whose existence I forgot about calls out.

"Ooh! That's me." I immediately turn away from Mr. Piggy and walk up to the stand.

"How much coal are you buying?" The man asks.

Eh... I dig through my pack of bullions, before pulling out a couple of gold coins. "How much will this buy?"

The man takes my coins and inspects them for a couple of moment, inspecting them.

He hands them back. "Twenty gold per bag."

Ooh. Right. The economy's kinda weird here. But not like I mind.

"I'll take three."

"Yessir. Comin' right up." The Scotsman... Says? I dunno what to call him.

He digs through his stand for a couple of seconds before pulling out three bag fulls of coal.

"Thanks." I nod, before turning around and-!

WAUGH!

And now I'm on the ground...

"Awwww. Do you think you can just walk out of a conversation with Sir Hitsworth, one of the richest nobles in aaaaaaall of Ylisse?"

... Dammit.

"Ooh, so you have a mud _mansion_ instead of a mud house?" I chuckle.

DAMMIT! I HAVE A PROBLEM!

Hitsworth kicks me in the rib.

GAH! Alright. I heard a crack. That's gonna hurt...

"Ah, if I have a mud mansion than you're in a pile a' wyvern crap."

"Wait... You're seriously a noble? I've seen preschoolers with better language skills."

He kicks me again.

"The hells a preschool?" he asks.

I lean up and look around, only to see that a whopping nobody is looking at us.

Greaaaat...

"Love you too guys." I blankly roll my eyes at the passerbys.

"I don't really care, kid." Some random guy says as he steps around me.

Kid? Rude. Oh come on now. Is that the best people can come up with nowadays?

"Well, I can't say I haven't had better d-!" ACK!

I quickly receive another swift kick to the ribs. "COULD YOU KNOCK IT OFF FOR A SECOND PLEASE?!"

Yeesh, it's so hard to snark nowadays...

Snark...

Oh...

I facepalm.

How could I forget... This is not the acceptable environment to be this level of snark...

Ugh... Not that I can help it... I don't even know why I am so-...

"What's the matter boy? Gone quiet? Cat finally got your tongue?"

I shake my head. "Nah. Just sorta bored."

Hitsworth kicks me one more.

GAH! Another crack...

"FATHER!"

A black-haired girl in a long white dress runs up to us, before turning toward Hitsworth.

"Father, leave this boy alone!"

"But Grandia, he's rude! He has to be teached a lesson!"

"Taught. And don't act like you're much better!" As she says this she moves his leg off of me, and helps me onto my feet. "Come on, you poor boy. Maybe it's best you leave..." she takes me by the hand and drags me out of the square.

* * *

Ack... "Look... Er, Grandia... I'm sorry for the trouble..."

"That's alright... I already said it. Father is not the most agreeable man..." Grandia went ahead and took me to an abandoned house nearby. Right now, she's more focusing on cleaning the wound on my side.

"I'll say..." I mutter.

She stops and lifts her head up, a glare passing over her face.

"U-uh.. Er, I'm sorry..."

"Why do you keep making those comments if you're just going to apologize for them?"

... "I don't know... It's just a habit, I guess."

I bite my lip, before looking back up at her.

"And... Sorry, for egging on your dad like that. It's as much my fault as it is his..."

Grandia looks me in eyes. "Well, you're admitting your mistake. That makes you stronger than my father already."

I sigh. "I guess..."

She pauses, moving her hair our of her eyes and giggling.

Oh, gosh... She's... Uhm.. r-r-really pretty... Ack, I'm blushing.

I must hide my face! I quickly move my view to my side, trying as hard as possible to avoid eye contact.

She sighs. "You're rather unusual, I must admit."

"W-What? How so...?"

"Well, for one, in a matter of seconds you have gone from loud and cocky to shy and quiet. Most people tend to me more consistent in that regard."

... Oh, right. Consistency isn't how I work.

"Er, I guess that describes me?" I sigh. "I've never been able to pinpoint why I act the way I do..."

Actually I have. It's wonderfully linked to my loneliness and desire to find true companionship. Because I'm pretty sure my attempt at being confident mutated into absurd levels of sarcasm and snark. But she doesn't have to know that.

Nooooobody doeeessss...

Grandia shrugs. "That's alright. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Ack! The 'you don't have to' card, the ultimate sign that I can trust them! Daaarn ittttt...!

"Oh, uh... Maybe I can explain it some other time..."

Oh gosh... I just met this girl... I don't want to burden her with my stupid life story. Half of my problems and such don't even completely apply to this world. None of my problems would even make sense in this world. My mental blockades, my growing god-complex, NONE OF IT!

She's really... I mean, she has such kind, beautiful blue eyes,

and she has such gorgeous black hair,

and don't even get me started on her-

No. No. Nonononononono Alan. Why do you have to develop a crush on every girl you meet...?

"Hm... What is your name?"

Wait... What do I tell her? Ravel?

Meh. That's my go-to alternate world name. I suppose that works just fine.

"Oh, right. My name is Ra-!"

I'm interrupted by a loud crash, followed by a booming voice.

"Lady Grandia! There you are!" My focus quickly darts to two rather bulky men in armor that have barged into the room.

N-No! Crap!

"Augustus! Gorey! Why have you come here?!"

"Your father told us you were taken by a filthy little criminal." One of the men says. "And by the looks of it, he was right!"

The two draw swords, before slowly approaching me.

"N-No! Stay away!" Grandia screams.

"I'm afraid we cannot do that, milady. Your father's orders. He wants him _**dead.**_ "

 _ **dead**_ _ **Dead  
DEAD**_

D-D-Dead?! No! I c-can't die... Not here... _Not anywhere_...!

"No! I will not allow you to lay a finger on him!" Grandia quickly turns toward me. "You... I need you to run! I'll distract them!" I can see her eyes starting to water a bit. "I'm sorry that we can't talk right now... But I hope we can meet again someday."

I nod, shivering a bit, I think, yet still managing to keep my cool. "Y-Yeah... It's a pleasure to have met you, Grandia..."

She nods and smiles, before turning toward the men and pulling out a book.

A book...

A book?

...!

A tome!

I have to run...! I have to do as she says and get as far away from here as possible!

I turn my head around fearfully, looking desperately for a door, as a powerful blast of wind bursts through the house.

GAH! THE WHOLE STRUCTURE'S SHAKING!

T-T-There's a hole in the wall!

I have to get out of here...!

I dash through the opening, before winding up in an alleyway.

"No! Lady Grandia! You can't do this! The whole building will fall on us if you-!" That was one of the men... But I can't hear him anymore. The building's shaking. It's too loud!

Is it... Falling?

But... But Grandia! I can't let her die in there...!

Gods damn it! I'm NOT going to let her die!

I angrily turn toward the hole.

"This one's for you."

I rush into the house, trying my hardest to ignore the creaking and the snapping of the wood.

"Grandia!" I yell. "Grandi...!"

...

They're... Gone...?

I guess they must have escaped... But...

The rattling of the structure gets louder.

And now blocks of stone are falling around me.

...

Dammit.

* * *

 **A/N: Let the cliffhangers commence.  
**

 **Yeah. I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. But I've been through a looooot over the past couple of years.**

 **For starters, I pretty much have not written so much as a sentence at all for months. But I actually went to go make a Pokémon fangame. Whoa! Neat!**

 **...Actually nope the data got corrupt after 6 months of development and now it's gone.**

 **But heeeeey I also got a girlfriend.**

 **...Nope. Dumped me for another guy.**

 **Also I had my house burn down.**

 **But hey look at the bright side I got a-**

 **No, lost that too.**

 **...**

 **...**

 **Honestly, I was beginning to think my luck wasn't that bad, but the more I think about it, the more I realize it is bad...**

 **Damn.**

 **OH WELL~!**

 **Anyways, the concept here is going to be the same... To a fault. Luckily I've managed to mature over the past two years and I can actually write a bit more competently. And maybe now my plots won't be so cringy. I've got a few more hopefully better ideas, and I can actually be convinced to proofread instead of just submitting for the sake of submitting.  
**

 **And for the love of Naga I would appreciate it if I didn't end up review-starved like last time. Now, I know there were quite a few of you reading, but at least a third of those 32 reviews of the last story were from Emblem of Fire.  
**

 **You still gots my respect, bruh. If you want to beta-read, go right ahead. I actually have quite a few chapters written ahead of time, so I may possibly be able to maintain a consistent update schedule for a whopping two weeks. If I upload weekly, that is.  
**

 **But regardless. I would like as much feedback as possible. Even if my story is absolutely cringe-worthy and terrible. I do not want to be reduced to a babbling vegetable who spends his days begging for reviews...**

 **Again.  
**


	2. Echoes

**A/N: Alright. One review. Apparently I'm doing good. I'll take your word for it.  
**

* * *

Guh...

"Hey...! Are you okay?!"

..Voices?

Ugh... My head hurts too much. I can barely feel a thing. My body's racked with all kinds of pain...

An unintelligible sound leaves my mouth.

"Well..." I think that's... A lady? "Eustace!" She screams. "Grab the staff! Quickly!"

Oh... What...

...

I can't feel my arm... That's not good.

Or my right leg... Not good either.

Ugh... There's a lot of pressure on my chest... I guess some of those blocks fell on me...

"What is it, Kiria?!" I manage to hear through through the ringing in my ears.

"This boy's been injured! I think it's the blacksmith's son!"

Oh.. I have an identity...

Identity...

OH CRAP!

I never even told Grandia my name!

UGH! How rude of me! She was being all kind to me and all of that and I didn't even bother to give her my name...!

Ughhhhhhh... I am such an idiot...!

I feel the pressure slowly getting lifted off of my body...

I guess those blocks are getting lifted anyways...

Would I even see her again? Would it really even matter?

Ugh... That's right... Here I am pitifully average. I bet she has a bunch of suitors lined up. Y'know... Those tall, muscular meatheads that probably can crush watermelons with their bare hands.

Those kinds of people.

"Hello?" Guh? I think that was the woman?

... My visions starting to come back...

Oh... An old couple helped me...?

They look pretty frail. Small, wrinkled, grey hair... The usual appearance for the elderly.

But... How did they lift those-

"Are you mute, child?" I hear the man- Eustace -say.

"Oh... Uh... Sorry..."

The woman, Kiria, smiles. "There is no need to worry, child. It's our duty to help those in need."

A nervous smile spreads across my face. "Y-Yeah..."

"Of course." Says Eustace. He reaches his hand out. I grab it, and manage to get lifted back onto my feet.

"Can you stand?"

I nod, although my balance is definitely off by quite a lot.

"You aren't in too much pain, are you? You do not have to stand if you do not want to..."

I shake my head. "I think I'm fine... Thank you so much for helping..."

"Ah, it is not a problem." Kiria says. "Now, what is your name, child?"

... My name...

Um...

Well, I suppose I can put that name Ravel to use.

It sounds cool, and, I think it means rebel in French. I think.

I mean, that'd be cool, right?

"My name is... Ravel."

"Ah. Quite interesting." Eustace grins, his teeth somehow being perfectly white and straight despite the lack of dental work in this medieval world.

Seriously though. I had braces for three years and couldn't get my teeth straight.

I sigh, before looking up into the sky.

Ah, what a pretty sunset...

...Sunset...

 **SUNSET!**

 **OHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAP!**

"AGH! I'm terribly sorry! But I just remembered I'm terribly late for something!"

The old couple nods in understanding. "Alright then..." Kiria says. "Take care.

As soon as she ends her sentence, I rush away as quickly as possible.

"How did he get under there anyways?" I hear Eustace say as I dash away.

* * *

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" I burst into the forge. "I was caught up in something and I had to-!"

My... Kind of sort of father is working at the furnace. It's weird. He looks and sounds like my father, but obviously he isn't related to me.

Um, why is he walking over angri-!

 **"FOOLISH APPRENTICE!"** GA! OW! I stumble a bit backwards as he slaps me across the face. "All of that time away and you did not even bring back any coals?!"

... Damn it... I knew I was forgetting something...

"I'm terribly sorry, Father. I am afraid I was caught up in a-!"

"I don't need excuses!" he screams. "Just go up to your room! We will talk about this in the morning..."

"...I-"

 **"NOW!"**

... "Yes, Father."

* * *

Well, isn't _this_ just great.

I've been in Ylisse for almost twenty-four hours and I've already almost gotten myself killed. I didn't even have to wake up at the prologue to accomplish that.

Ugh...

...

Oh no way...

This is the night Ylisse is getting invaded...

Idiot- Idiot- IDIOT!

... Just what the hell am I going to do?

There's going to be Plegian soldiers and burning and fire and more near-death experiences and-

I sweaaaaaar...!

* * *

So why can't I sleep?

... Am I really that afraid?

Of pain? Death? All of that stupid crap?

This is what I get for playing filthy Casual mode. I'm far too unprepared for this...

Ugh...

I hope nothing happens to anyone...

Not Grandia. Not that old couple. Not anyone. This is all so stupid.

I feel my train of thought derailed by a loud scream from outside. A wave of fear surges through my body.

Ugh... So it starts. The night that Emmeryn is captured. That Ylisstol falls. That the whole magical chain of horrid events occur.

I'm _not_ ready for this...

I reluctantly climb out of my bed, drag myself to the window.

...I'm _definitely not_ ready for this.

I crack the window and look out.

Flames.

Flames everywhere...

Just as I thought.

Tsk.

* * *

I slowly tiptoe my way down the steps.

The forge is empty, the furnace still barely lit with the hot coals.

Everything looks so messy... As if he just got up and ran for it...

Who knows just what the hell he did...

I sigh and wipe a drop of sweat off of my brow. Hell knows what awaits.

If the timeline stays the same, I'm going to go out there and get beaten within an inch of my life. But, you know, that was a bland, personality-less OC that did things much better than me. How the hell will I survive? Y'know? A guy whose only fighting experience is punching some stuff that were designed to be punched?

I frown, before walking over to the other side of the forge, searching intently for...

And here it is. The oh great and mighty Sue Sword of unknown power.

I approach the large glass display case, staring down at the blade within.

It definitely looks unusual... I guess.

For starters, everything except the blade is black, and even then, there's a sort of black stripe running down the middle.

And there's a hole in the center. Even I'm not sure how that's a good design feature on a sword, but to hell if I know anything about this. I think Falchion's got it too, so...

I sigh.

Is there a name for this thing?

It's supposed to be a family heirloom. A poorly thought out one at that. Does it have a purpose?

... And why is the case unlocked?

I reach for the latch on the box, lifting it and opening it.

I reach my hand out for the blade, slowly wrapping my fingers around it's cold hilt.

* * *

 **"Ah, now, son. This my pride and joy. Been passed through the family. 'Been said that it's the strongest sword in the world."**

 **"Then why do you keep it locked away?"**

 **"Well, _Draiotoll_ is incredibly strong... And you know what they say about power..."**

 **"And what is that?"**

 **"That with great power comes great responsibility."**

* * *

What.

What the hell was that?

Why am I hearing voices in my head again?

I prefer the damn privacy of my mind, thank you very much. The only person who needs to know what the hell goes on in here is me.

...

Hello?

Nothing?

I sigh.

Draiotoll, huh? I suppose that's a pretty unique name.

I frown, staring at the blade in my hand.

I practice a few swings.

Ah damn. That's such an enjoyable sound...

The sword feels really natural.

Much lighter than what I held earlier...

Yet at the same time, it does feel like it has more force. Like it's sorta lightening itself up for me.

... I have no idea, but I need to get equipped if I want to not get instantly killed by these soldiers.

I turn toward the shelves and stands filled with armor.

What the hell am I going to do?

* * *

Alright. I can't move.

Moral of the story: heavy armor is not the greatest choice if you want to be able to lift up your legs.

Aw... It's such a shame. I really like the role of tank. Y'know, getting beaten repeatedly and not letting the pain get to you.

...

Alright, tank definitely is a no-go.

* * *

Eugh. This armor barely covers anything. I'm better off wearing regular clothes.

Besides. Way too much chest for me.

...Even if I do have abs now for some reason...

WHATEVER. I guess now I don't have to wear a shirt while swimming.

Y'know, even if the only swimming I'm going to be doing anytime soon is swimming in blood.

Whether or not its my own I'll just have to find out...

* * *

This is literally just cloth.

Why.

* * *

Alright... This is definitely an improvement.

For starters, it's actual armor. Not too light, not too heavy. Just enough to give me some mobility.

What is this, anyways? Mercenary armor? I think I see a shield.

Eh. I have no idea.

But the colors are pretty plain. Just the super wonderful 100 shades of brown.

I can always just get more later...

If I survive...

...

...

No. I can survive just fine.

No need to worry, right?

Haha...

I mean, what if I-

No.

I can... I can make it...?

I sigh, and walk toward the door, blade in hand.

"Alright." I mutter under my breath. "Get ready to fail."

I kick open the door, before walking out into the streets.

"Ugh. You guys sure do love your fire, don't you?" I snark. As always.

I look around the street.

Any people to save here..?

"We sure do..." I jump, not aware that someone was near.

I quickly turn, weapon in combat position.

A barbarian. Standing back against a wall. Arms folded. Hm... His axe isn't drawn.

I look around me, making sure nobody else is near.

"Then why are you using it?" I growl, trying to look as calm as possible.

But I can't stay that calm. I'm trembling. How could I not?

But I can't be afraid. Not here.

"Simple. They want revenge." the man sighs. "Avenging people. Family, friends, yada yada..."

I gulp. "...Then why aren't you attacking me...? I'm armed and everything..."

He frowns. "Why should I? I have nothing to gain from it. We have one goal. One less person won't keep us from reaching it."

"... And what would that goal be?" I mutter.

"They want to exalt. That's what."

So why would they-!

I grit my teeth. "So that's that? What the hell is this accomplishing? You think this is just a game or something?"

Of course there's damn irony. But I don't give a shit about irony... Right now, this isn't just a jumble of numbers...

"I don't think this is a game. I think this is real life." The man grunts. "Tell me, kid. Do you see me out there? Lighting up the place, rounding up the civilians, and screaming profanities?"

I pause.

"... Are you actually different...?" I ask. "How do I know this isn't a trap...?"

Alright... I loosen the grip on my sword and lower it a bit.

"I'm just gonna say it's not. You can do whatever the hell you want to me, though. Stab me, ignore me. Do whatever." He sighs once more. "Frankly, we probably deserve it."

...

There's something in his eyes.

I lower my sword.

"... You really aren't a threat..." I sigh.

The man gives a nervous chuckle. "Of course... I'm honestly surprised I didn't die in the first little skirmish..." He sighs. "What's your name anyways, kid?"

"R-Ravel..."

"Huh. Cool name. The name's Wilson." The man reaches his hand forward.

Does he want me to shake it...?

... Um...

I reach out and shake it.

Ach... That's quite the firm grip.

After a couple of seconds, he lets go.

...

Wait.

I was supposed to get attacked out here. Ganged up on by a bunch of Plegians.

Where could they-!

 **"WILSON! In Gods' names could you stop conversing with the enemy!"**

EECK!

I quickly turn around, clumsily yanking out my sword and pointing it out in front of me.

One, two, three, four, five, six?! Oh for the love of Naga!

...

What

"Hey, Fierre. Listen. I was just having a friendly conversation. We don't have to kill every person we see."

The man in the middle's pretty tall, buff. Leader, I think. Fierre? Welp.

"Wilson, what part of 'show no mercy' do you fail to understand?!"

"Aw, come on Fierre. I like this one though."

"No."

"Pleeeeeaaase? Can we at least make him into a servant?"

"Is it that hard to kill him?!"

"Yes."

The exchange is immediately followed by a long, drawn out silence.

"... Ugh. Fine."

...

Wait.

"Do I get a say in this?!" I ask.

The men all stop to stare at me.

"No." Fierre says.

The crowd proceeds to roar in laughter.

Wilson sighs. "Just... Let me handle this."

I reluctantly turn toward the barbarian.

"We have to take you to Plegia, mate." Wilson shrugs. "So... Can you just surrender for me?"

I pause.

Surrender, huh?

...

I turn toward the crowd of soldiers.

"Sorry, Wilson." I say. "But surrender isn't an option."

"Aw come on man... I didn't want to hurt you... But..."

Wait, wha-?!

My thoughts are interrupted by a strong force impacting my skull, a blast of pain surging through my skull.

I feel my knees buckle, and the last thing I feel is my face slamming against the cobblestone.

* * *

 **A/N: Hah! You thought I wouldn't put a cliffhanger here? You don't know me at all!**

 **Cliffhangers are my specialty. Sorry for the shorter chapter. But on the bright side, I have a consistent upload date now. But really. The next chapter is definitely going to be longer than this.  
**


	3. Imprisoned

**A/N: I'm not completely dead. At least on the outside. I updated this because I felt like it.**

 **Oh goodness. The review famine is worse than the original. I don't know how I feel about this...  
**

 **Where the hell is emblem of fire when you need him?**

 **That being said I really like how this chapter turned out. It's an improvement on the original in almost every aspect. And it's longer. Though I feel like it may have dragged on for a bit.**

* * *

How long's it been since I've been locked away?

Three? Four days? A week, maybe?

All I know is that after getting my jaw broken, I woke up in a jail cell. I eventually got healed, but... Eh.

I'm assuming that Wilson's idea of me becoming a servant didn't go through.

Such a shame. Maybe I could have slit Gangrel's throat.

...

What the hell am I saying?

Prison life changes you. Damn.

"Hey Ray. What're you thinking about?" A shadow in the corner asks.

Jafray. My prison-buddy. Tall, lean, has scruffy black hair, and snarks enough to give me a run for my money.

"I'm sitting on the floor locked away inside of a desert prison. I believe a good question is what am I not thinking about?"

Luckily Jafray is one of those select few people in Plegia that doesn't hate the guts of every Ylissean. Hell, there are actually quite a few people in the prison that are fine with me. In the few times that we actually get to interact with other people, I say we get along pretty well. Of course, Jafray, meanwhile, is attempting to fight everyone that even looks at his sister.

Honestly, mixed gendered prisons are just disasters waiting to happen.

But I suppose Jafray's liking toward me can be justified by the fact that I created him. Sorta. I mean, this whole experience is clearly based off of crappy OC Fire Emblem Awakening story that I thought I was super awesome in writing. And never publishing.

Yeah. I suppose in hindsight I shouldn't write fanfiction.

Besides... There are way too many differences from what there are supposed to be. Last I checked, Wilson didn't originally exist.

Jafray sighs, and walks to the other side of the room, pulling out a piece of chalk and making a mark on the wall.

I look over. "Fourty days already? Damn dude. What did you do to get in here again?"

He sighs. "Calina and I tried to steal a horse. Figured we'd go run to Ylisse. Obviously deserts aren't very good places to be poor and hungry." Of course, this isn't the only reason he got in here. He's told other stories about things he has stolen, things he's done, et cetera.

I chuckle. "I'd expect so."

He frowns, and leans against the wall. "Yeah. It sucks having to run all of the time, y'know?"

I nod in response. "Funny enough, I've always kinda wanted to travel the world..."

The thief turns, a look of confusion on his face. "Why in Gods names would you want that? The city life is leagues better than this crap. You got a warm bed, food, and all of that."

I sigh. "Eh... I didn't always live in the city..." I yawn, stretching my arms and lying down. "But... Not really what I meant." I stare at the ceiling, counting the bricks. "It's more like... I never really felt like I fit in with people. Like, I see all of these people with close friends and companions that they share everything with. Meanwhile, I'm sitting here like, 'Damn. I barely even see my friends.'"

Jafray grunts. "Sorry man... Look, though, no need to worry. We're friends. After we get outta this hellhole, we can go do whatever you wish. I'll stick by you, if you'd like."

I grin. "Hah... That'd be great. Thanks a ton, Jafray."

I sigh, rolling onto my side and resting my head on the rather uncomfortable floor. "Y'know, I've always wanted to be a hero to people."

"A hero?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah. Haven't heard that one before either."

I chuckle. "Alright, alright. Maybe not the most original thing ever." I lean back up, and turn toward Jafray. "But that's the thing... I've always felt... Useless. Without purpose. I've always wanted to make an impact, but haven't been in any state to be able to."

"I know that feeling all too well..."

"Yeah... It's hard to accomplish anything as a single, weak person. I mean, I couldn't save a single person from that whole Ylisstol invasion..." Maybe this is for the better, though.

"Then let's get stronger together."

Hm? "You really think we can? First we may want to get out of here."

Jafray looks around, before frowning. "Oh. Yeah. Almost forgot."

... "If you say soooo..." I mutter.

I close my eyes.

Yet I begin to see things. My room. The people I know. My family.

What even is going to happen if I get back to my world? Am I being missed? Just what the hell is going on without me?

...

I sigh. "I think I'm gonna take a nap..."

"Sounds good." Jafray says.

I roll back onto my side and shut my eyes.

Consciousness leaves quickly.

* * *

I look forward at the vast white expanse in front of me.

What is this?

...

"Here to explain why I'm here?" I ask.

...

"Okay then. So you've figured that out pretty quick."

Hm? That's certainly not my voice.

I guess there really is some supernatural stuff going on here.

Obviously. I mean, why else would I be in a random game world?

I shrug. "I suppose. Do you have a good reason?"

A tall, muscular man with long, curly blonde hair materializes in front of me. "Well, that is subjective." he says. He has a serene, almost shiny white cloak. Is it made of silk?

Huh. I daresay I expected my celestial guardian to be an old, frail man.

"Yes... That trope is rather common... I can understand why you would think that."

... "Uh. Did you just-?"

"Yes." The man nods. "But if you would rather, I could take your preferred form."

The man is enveloped in a golden light, and the silhouette of his body begins to shift and shorten.

As the light fades, a bald, bearded man with snow-white hair is left in his place. His white cloak is now far too large looking for his small body.

"Huh. Okay. That's something."

The man nods. "Yes, Alan. It truly is something." His voice is gentle, yet hoarse.

"Alright. So you do know my name. Also something." I shrug. "So what is your name?"

"My name is beyond your comprehension, but for convenience, you may call me Jeremiah."

Jeremiah. Huh.

 _I assume you have already noticed my telepathy._

Um... Yes?

 _And yes. I can hear your thoughts._

...

All of them?

 _Yes._

Every... Single... One of them...?

 _Indeed._

...

Sorry, but references are a vital part of any interaction. Just who the hell do you think I am?

 _Child, stop._

I am the white voi-!

 _Stop._

Please underst-

 _I SAID STOP!_

... Fine. But remember. As long as I have free will, I have free memes.

Anyways. Why am I here exactly?

"Well. The answer is a bit complicated... It is certainly difficult to reasonably convey to a mortal."

What. So should I speak or think?

"Thinking can be a bit more cloudy. Speaking will work much better."

I nod. "Okay then. So explain."

Jeremiah nods. "First of all, I should explain exactly how our universe is structured."

A small circle appears between us.

"Picture this circle as the beginning."

I nod.

"At the beginning of time, a law was placed in order. A sort of, program, if you will." Jeremiah pauses. "It is more than a mere data packet like you may think of it as. It is above life. Above existence. It contains all ideas. All thoughts. All dreams. In essence, it is what you mortals would call a god."

Small lines begin branching off of the center circle, with smaller circles forming at the ends of each line. "The god is not like you would think it is, however. The original creation was given the purpose of calculating all possibilities."

"Wait, like-"

Jeremiah nods. "Yes, Alan. Or should I say, Ravel. The beginning of time resulted in multiple major splits. Different basis for worlds were created. Whole dimensions different universes. Some even you could not understand."

"You don't seem to have much faith in my comprehension ability."

The old man shrugs. "I'm only stating the truth. But anyways, the splits of the universe are not all able to be maintained by one god. As the number of dimensions grew, the god had begun to split apart. It's fragments took control of the dimension, each enacting different laws. For example, while some worlds, such as your own, are based off of science and logic, there are others, such as this world, that bend the traditional rules a bit more. Many were gifted with magic. Contrary to what many may think, magic does not bend the rules. It merely exercises the lesser known ones."

...

This is some deep stuff, man. I think I'm getting a dream headache.

"If you would like to take a break, you may."

... "How much time do I have?" I ask.

"... If you take a break, probably not enough to explain this time."

I sigh. "In that case, keep going."

"If you insist." The old man clears his throat before continuing his explanation. "I will go ahead and simplify it for you. The dimensions were split into universes, which are governed by more gods. As a result these can also have different laws. There is usually a main basic timeline in each universe. However, there are many diverging paths based on possibilities. This can lead to near infinite-timelines, or Outrealms, for even one universe, to the point where it can often be difficult to identify a true main timeline." Jeremiah stares into my eyes. "To put it simply: every possibility is fact."

... All of them?!

I dare not clarify. It would only confuse you more.

"No, I mean-! I may..."

You may be right...

"As a divine being such as myself should be."

... Divine being? "So how do these gods work... How are divine beings like yourself a thing?"

Jeremiah nods. "There is a husk of the original god. In it, all gods gather. Well, most of them. The term god is rather broad. I am more referring to ones with the ability to govern the universes."

Ugh...

"I shall go ahead and finish. Naga governs this universe. This is an Outrealm. You have been put here as a result of-!"

Jeremiah stops mid-sentence. "I was wrong, it seems. Your awakening is due sooner than I had anticipated."

"Er, what?! Please at least explain the thing to-!"

* * *

"Ravel! Wake up!"

"Guh! What?! What is it Jafray?! I kinda needed that sleep." I yawn, rubbing my eyes.

"You sleep when we're on the road."

"What? No... I told you not to eat Brick's cookies..." Judging by that creepy smile, I'm assuming he hasn't learned. Poor soul.

"No, no..! Not this time! Look!" Jafray pulls out a shiny thing.

...

Wait.

"Keys?!" I yell.

"Shush!" Jafray whispers. "A guard dropped 'em! We don't need anyone hearing about this...!"

"WHAT?!" A voice echoes in the cell nearby. Suddenly the halls are a chorus of

"THAT DUDE HAS THE KEYS?!"

"HOLY GODS LET ME OUT!"

"I CANT BREEEEATHE"

"I SHOULDNT HAVE EATEN THE COOKIES"

"Actually I kinda like it in here."

Oh for the love of-!

"I meant to say... Uh... Keyz yo' arse gewdbai man?" Does that accent even exist in this world? That was too stupid to work.

A groan of diappointed groans and swears echo across the room.

Wow. It worked. I'm actually kind of disappointed.

"Alright then. You gonna get that door open?" I whisper.

The thief nods, before pulling out the keys and testing each one on the lock.

I'm not completely sure why there is a lock on the inside of the cell. All you'll need is a lockpick or two and you're good to go.

But, well. I suppose there are armed guards... Everywhere...

... Uh-oh.

"Jafray... I don't think that's a good idea..."

"What makes you think that?"

"Armed. Guards."

"So?"

" _Armed. Guards._ "

"Okay. We're still going."

What the literal-!

You know what. "Okay, fine." I groan.

He finally gets the door open. He turns toward me. "If we see someone, we can use nature's weapons: the fists."

I shrug. I have a little bit of MMA training. I suppose that can help. Against _ARMED, ARMORED GUARDS_ , I guess. I mean, that was months ago and I'm probably incredibly rusty.

Jafray looks back at me. "First thing's first. We're grabbing Calina and getting out of here."

"Can we save Brick too while we're at it? His cakes are really good." I mean, you can only taste the powder sometimes.

"Maybe that'd be a nice option if he weren't arrested for slaughtering a village."

... "Okay, you're probably right. Let's just get going.

I frown, turning my head toward the glares of the prisoners. And boy, are they unhappy. It's almost like they are upset that we're getting freedom before them. Crazy, huh?

I sigh, shaking my head and shifting my gaze away from the criminals.

We have yet to find any guards, let alone armed ones. "Hey, Jafray." I ask. "Any idea where-!"

"HALT!" noooooooo

I immediately turn around to see a rather unhappy soldier, spear pointed in our direction.

"Get back in your cells, IMMEDIATELY!" he yells.

The prisoners are all yelling. "FIGHT! FIGHT!" they screech.

Jafray chuckles. " A fight, huh?"

The soldier tightens his grip on his lance. "Get back!"

The thief raises his hands beside him. "Alright. Alright. Don't get violent, now."

The soldier continues his frenzied glare.

Jafray slowly paces toward him, hands still by his side. "Just... Calm... Down..."

What is he doing...?

Jafray slowly gets closer, staring directly into the eyes of the enemy.

In a single movement, Jafray grabs hold of the lance. He twists it out of the grip of the soldier, quickly ripping it away.

"Catch!" he yells. He tosses it toward me.

Naturally, I fail to catch it.

I groan, leaning down to reach for the weapon.

I look up to see Jafray pinning the soldier against a wall, arms wrapped around his neck.

"Um... Let's try not to kill him." I say.

Jafray growls. "Ugh. Fine." He holds onto the soldier for another minute or so, as the latter gasps and kicks around. He soon loses consciousness.

That's a little scary, if I'm being quite honest.

"Not enough blood." one of the prisoners sighs.

I shrug. "Better luck next time, I guess."

Jafray frowns, before looking at the fallen soldier in front of him. "So much for a clean record."

I chuckle. "We're breaking out of prison. Clean records are dumb."

He grins. "Well then. Let's get going, I guess."

I nod.

So... Am I just stuck with this lance right now?

I stare down at my weapon as we walk.

I'm seriously not a lance person. Grace? Speed? No thanks. I'm an axe or sword person. Brute force is my fighting style.

But I suppose it will do for now. Maybe until it breaks.

...

I wish we had Fates durability. That would be nice. I sigh.

I look back up to the prison cells as we pass them.

If only we could let some of these people out...

But some of them are probably in here for a reason... Besides, the innocents will be freed as soon as this war is over. I'm sure of it.

...

G-G!

I gasp as I peer into one of the cells.

"Grandia?!"

She looks so different. Before, she had such a cheerful, bright smile.

But... Now..? She's bruised, battered, and she looks... distant.

She slowly opens her eyes. "Who... Who are you..."

Gods! Who the hell did this?!

"Grandia?! It's me! I'm..." Agh. That's right. I didn't tell her my name... "I'm that boy you met at Ylisstol!"

She tilts her head in thought. Her eyes widen in realization. "You are... Alive?" he mutters, her voice faint.

I feel my face contort into a scowl. I turn my head down the hall, looking at Jafray, who has wandered a few feet ahead. "HEY! JAFRAY!" I yell.

He is startled a bit, but turns his head and looks back toward me. "What?!"

"Give me the keys." I growl.

Jafray runs toward me. He sees my expression. I think he understands. He extends his palm, the keys in his hand.

I grab them and quickly shift through them, quickly finding the correct key and placing it into the lock.

I open the door and look down toward Grandia.

I shudder, trying not to look at her injuries. "Can you stand?" I ask, my voice growing rather monotone. That tends to happen when I'm unhappy.

She glances up to me, one of her eyes swollen shut. She meekly tries to get to her feet, but quickly falls.

Dammit. I shake my head and reach my hand out. "Here. I'll help you. I'll support you."

She takes my hand, and I pull her onto her feet. She quickly stumbles onto my side.

I feel myself trembling.

"D-Damn... What happened to-!"

"That's not important right now." I interrupt Jafray. I glare at him. "We have to focus on getting outta here."

Grandia groans, taking her hand and resting it on her face.

Dammit dammit dammit DAMMIT! She needs healing quick.

"No, we need to focus on getting my sister first!" Jafray clenches his fists. I sigh.

"Fine." I say. "You do know where her cell is, right?"

He nods, and walks ahead.

I frown, before turning my head toward the injured girl on me.

"I'm... Ravel, by the way..." I pause, before shaking my head. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to tell you earlier."

Grandia makes a quiet, yet unintelligible noise.

...

I'm going to murder whoever did this.

"Hey, is that you?!" I quickly turn around, reaching for my lance with my one open hand.

Just as I turn, I realize just who it is that I am talking to.

A rather familiar barbarian.

"W-Wilson?!" I gasp. "What are you doing here?!"

From behind me, I hear Jafray's hurried footsteps.

"You... You know this guy?" the thief asks, just as he reaches us.

I nod. "Yeah... I met him just before I was captured."

"Plus," Wilson adds, "I was the one that dropped the keys."

"That was you?!" Jafray exclaims. "I thought you were just an idiot!"

"Hah. Of course I'm not." Wilson chuckles. "I thought that-... Wait, what's up with the girl."

I growl. "I don't know. Maybe I should ask one of your little coworkers."

Wilson's laid back demeanor disappears. "Damn! What the hell did they do to her?! This is serious." Wilson quickly searches through his pockets, before pulling out a small vial. "Here. I've been saving this." He opens it and reaches out to Grandia. "Hey, er... Ravel, was it? This is an elixir. I kinda need her to open her mouth."

I look over to Grandia. "Can you...?" she weakly nods, before opening her mouth. She quickly gulps down the elixir.

She gasps, coughing a bit.

"Are you okay?!" I ask rather loudly. Sometimes I forget that I can be rather protective.

The noble slowly opens her eyes. "I... Think..."

"Ah! Okay.." I nod, sighing a not at all quiet sigh of relief. I pause. "Er, do you still need me to-?"

She coughs. "I think... I think maybe for a little bit longer... I'll be up on my feet again soon."

* * *

So our numbers doubled rather quickly, it seems. Wilson's decided to stick with us. A bit amazed that he decided to desert the Plegian army, but I think seeing Grandia didn't hurt his decision in the slightest. But having him around is definitely a relief. He's a rather seasoned fighter, as well as being the only one of us that is actually well-armed.

And Grandia, she's back on her feet, a bit slow still, but I'm walking with her.

"We're here." Jafray announces. He quickly looks around in his pocket for the keys, before turning toward me.

"O-Oh." I quickly dig through my pocket for the keys, and...

I don't have them. Are you kidding-!

"Here." Grandia says. She pulls out the keys and hands them to the thief.

I turn toward her, with a look that can only be described as "How?"

She giggles, as weakly as she can in her current state. "You dropped them when you opened my cell. I grabbed them as you helped me up."

I sigh. "I can't believe I didn't catch that."

"BROOOOO!" A rather loud female voice yells as the cell door swings open. A blonde figure tackles Jafray to the ground.

"Agh! Calina, can you-!" Jafray's voice is muffled by Calina covering his mouth with her palm.

"Shut up and get me out of this place, please." she says.

Calina is blonde-haired thief of slightly below-average height. Honestly, she doesn't resemble Jafray all that much. Maaaaaybe I can kinda see a little bit of a similarity in terms of facial structure, but other than that, nothing too much.

* * *

"Soooooo..." Calina says. "Are we there yet?"

"Nope." Jafray says.

"Where _are_ we even going right now?" she asks. "Literally nobody's told me anything."

"We're going to the holding room to get our things." I groan. "Besides, I we'd rather get out of here as quick as possible rather than dump exposition on everyone we meet."

Calina sighs. "Oh thank goodness. I thought we were leaving our stuff in here."

I shrug. "Only reason I'm for it is because I have a family sword I don't want lost." I turn toward Wilson. "They actually put it in there?"

Wilson nods. "I dunno. If some guy here likes cool looking swords, it may not be there."

I groan. "Great."

Jafray chuckles. "Hey, you can get some of my stuff if ya want."

I shrug. Sure.

We rather quickly reach the storage room.

Luckily the keys are pretty all-purpose, so the door for this unlocked too.

As soon as soon as the room is opened, everyone scatters, searching through the chests.

I slowly walk over to one of them. 'Weapons', it is written on the front.

This isn't even English. And I'm frankly not sure how I can read this.

Eh. Whatever.

I shrug, opening it and looking at it's content.

Heh.

Draiotoll is here. Not sure what the odds of that are. Nor am I sure how I remember the name of the weapon.

"Weapons are over here if you need any." I announce.

That sends the two thieves straight to me. They start gathering weapons by the armfulls.

"Why're you looking at me like that?" Jafray asks. "You know these spares will give us a ton of gold, right?"

I shrug. "Whatever." Sword still in hand, I make my way over to a different chest. 'Armor'. Hm.

I open it's contents. And it's a nice little variety once more.

But I suppose I should just grab some Mercenary armor, unless I feel like mixing and matching stuff.

Eh. But even then, Mercenary armor is easily the most well-rounded of armor. The only alternative is either a super light cloak or literally nothing.

I love you too, Fighter armor. Speaking of which...

I turn around."Wilson, why do you wear that armor?"

The barbarian shrugs. "'Cause it's comfy. Do we need another reason?"

"Not dying, maybe?"

"I'll be fineeee..."

No he won't. Fate doesn't work like that. Whatever. People are too resilient. Trying to sway them is a bad idea.

I frown, grabbing the mercenary grab and sliding it over the rags I'm stuck with.

I sheathe Draiotoll, and stare at the people around me.

Jafray and Calina have their garbs on as well. Their thief cloaks are black and brown respectively. Interessssting.

I gaze toward the other side of the room, spotting Grandia sitting at a nearby chair.

I make my way over to her. "Hey." I wave.

She nods. "Hello, Ravel." Ah. Good. She remembered my name even in her state of half-consciousness...

"How's everything going?" I ask. Now I just need to think of literally anything else to say in response. I was never that great at conversation.

"Much better..." she says. "That elixir did wonders." I chuckle in response. I see she has a sort of... Cleric garb? Hrm. So she's a healer. That isn't too surprising, actually.

Because all noble females are healers, it seems. Silly fantasy stereotypes. Whateeeevs. "I'm personally ready to get out of here."

She shakes her head. "I still find the lack of guards suspicious." I nod in agreement to her statement.

I shrug, before turning toward the others. "Hey. Are we ready to go?" I yell.

I hear various murmurs of agreement. "Alright then. Let's get going."

* * *

"UGH! Outdoors at last!" I yell. The sun is absolutely blinding, and the heat is intense, and yet it feels so soothing.

... Soothing for a few seconds, that is. Now I'm covered in sweat.

"Finally. 'Bout time we got out of this rathole." Jafray chuckles, wiping sweat off of his brow before turning toward the cliffs beside him.

I turn as well. The area around his is rather high-up. And the scenery looks pretty familiar.

...

"Hey. Wilson." I ask. "Where are we exactly?"

Wilson shrugs. "Argmire. Plegian capital. I thought you knew this."

I pause. "And... What about the other guards?"

Wilson frowns, before shaking his head and pointing toward the various shapes below.

I gasp. I hadn't even seen them. "Are those... Armies?" I ask.

... So we're in Chapter 9. Interesting... I would love to get down there and help out, but... How do we even get up there?

Wilson nods. "Yeah. Plegia and Ylisse have been fighting for hours. But by the looks of it, Plegia's about finished."

"That explains it..." I mutter. I hear a few murmurs of agreement.

I sigh, well aware of what's coming next. I sit down on the sands below us. "I think we should find a shady spot and take a break."

Calina groans. "Yeah yeah. You just wanna root for your country, don't ya?"

I shrug. "Maybe. More like I'm sick of walking, though."

Grandia giggles. "But even then... I would like to see if Lady Emmeryn will be alright."

... Dammit.

I frown. "Maybe we should get something to eat first." I say.

Grandia shakes her head. "I can wait."

...

* * *

I stare at the battlefield below us.

Ylisse is absolutely dominating them. Their uniforms are all blue, but I can definitely see some of the Shepherds.

But there's someone else out there.

I can make out almost everyone. But... There's one too many pegasus knights here.

She's definitely an elite, or Shepherd, or whatever. She isn't wearing the same uniform that most of the people are.

And plus... She's doing a lot of damage to the Plegians.

...

Damn. All that's left is the boss? I sigh once again.

Everyone else is just sitting here, watching the bloodshed.

A pegasus knight flies into the fray, swooping up the the boss. One of Ylisse's elite pegasus knights? Did they have a name? I forgot. I haven't played Awakening in years. Having my 3DS broken really made me hate the fact that I got it digitally.

But still, didn't they only appear after?

...

I don't know. I shake my head and stare back at the chaos below. I can barely identify her features. I see, brownish, medium hair, maybe? I have not a clue.

The pegasus knight and the general are locked into a fierce duel. She's sending blows absurdly quickly, and even then, the general's keeping up.

And-

Damn. The pegasus knight impales the general, straight through the armor and all.

Not quite sure how she did that.

And so he falls.

The plot quickly picks up.

Philia and her knights approach, ready to rescue Emmeryn.

The Risen make sure that isn't the case.

I hear a gasp beside me. Probably Grandia.

I feel my senses dull. It's great to know that I can do nothing to help.

My gaze directs toward the cliffs, up to the exalt.

Emmeryn bows her head, or at least from what I can see.

Even from here, I can hear her speech. For such a gentle person, her voice is quite loud.

"Oh gods..." Grandia mutters. "I don't think I can watch..."

I frown. I want so badly to look away.

Why... Why do I keep looking this way? The sight of death has always bothered me. So why...

Emmeryn steps to the edge of the spike, before slowly, falling off.

Time seems to stop.

There she is, the exalt of Ylisse, peacekeeper, slowly falling to her death.

I turn my head.

Grandia is turned away, tears in her eyes. Wilson and Calina are watching with concern, while Jafray is shaking his head.

I sigh, turning my head back around.

Just as the exalt is about to make an impact, I close my eyes and sigh once more.

But I hear no more.

I hear no impact, I nothing. I open my eyes.

...!

Wha-What?!

I hear gasps all around me.

That pegasus knight... The one from earlier...

She flies around the courtyard, exalt in tow, skillfully dodging the waves of arrows from the Risen archers.

She quickly reunites with Chrom and the Shepherds, landing and dropping off Emmeryn.

"Oh, thank the gods she is safe!" Grandia cries.

...

What. I...

This isn't good...

* * *

 **A/N: I like this chapter, even if nobody reads this story, even if it was a bit long...**

 **But heeeey. The crowd's a bit bigger this tim** **e around. I'm attempting to give everyone more different characteristics this time around. Which may or may not show very well at all. Also I'm introducing a couple of more characters. Hopefully it doesn't get out of control this time around. Which with more characters, it probably will.**

 **Oh man, Emmeryn's been saved, though. This is unusual.**

 **Regardless, It feels kinda nice to write something more serious again for a change.**

 **Reviews would be nice. Having no feedback tends to bother me quite a lot. Even "yeah this is okay." is good enough for me.**


	4. Journey

**A/N: Just know that every time I disappear for a year, I come back at least a little better at writing than before.**

 **I mean, sure, I'm wasting my potential on overdone Awakening self-inserts, but the important part is that I'm not dead.**

* * *

The desert sun is staring me down, and hoo boy, that's making a difference.

I can feel the ground under me practically baking, and from all directions the horizon is distorted by the blazing heat.

I cup my hands around my sweat-drenched face, squinting carefully down the desert sands in hopes of spotting anything.

Nothing.

"How much farther?" I yell out to no person in particular. I turn my head, carefully eyeing my companions.

Jafray and Calina are, predictably, chatting up a storm. Even back in the prison they had their fair share of exchanges, whether it be about thieving, their parents, or just how unbelievably bad the prison food was.

Not that they would say that about Brick's cookies. Those things were like a slice of heaven in the depths of hell.

I turn toward our resident barbarian. Wilson's a bit ahead of us all, acting as a scout, I suppose?

He turns toward me, his eyes meeting mine.

The shrug he makes isn't reassuring. _Perfect._

I frown, before subtly attempting to gaze over my shoulder.

Grandia is off by herself, her hands sheepishly held behind her back. She has a small cloth covering his head, but what little I can see of her face is directed toward her feet.

Her expression is blank, and empty, and her features are a lot more thin. She looks so different from when I met her in Ylisstol.

I feel my blood begin to boil, not solely as a result of the desert heat.

... No, the important part is making sure we get to safety.

I frown, clearing my thoughts and closing my eyes. I keep walking ahead, thinking to myself.

I haven't been thinking too much about the universe's confirmed origins. Maybe it's best I'm not. My brain boiling so much could have a negative effect on this entire thing.

... And what about her? I glance at Grandia, before quickly looking forward again.

Our meeting felt a little... Intentional, y'know? I say this as someone who's never really believed in destiny, but... Could that have meant anything? Or are there whole other worlds where we may have never met at all?

As the very idea of approaching her passes across my mind, I feel a wave of panic surge within my chest.

... I don't know if she feels like talking, right? She was not in good condition when we picked her up, it's only natural that I _not_ try and bring up any traumatic memories.

I sigh rather loudly. No wonder I've been in, like, one relationship.

... But this is the Fire Emblem universe. People seem to want to get married after only a few conversations. Or is that a gameplay thing only?

Gah, there's no point in it. I just met the girl, she may be pretty, but I don't even know that much about her.

* * *

The sun's still looming overhead, and at this point the back of my neck is screaming in pain.

Sunburn. It's always been the bane of my existence. One time, I went to an island for a couple of hours and had my face practically peeling off. I couldn't leave my house for a week after that, and even with heavy medication it took forever to heal.

... But would that be as much of an issue with staves?

..."Can staves heal sunburns?" I ask.

I hear murmurs from the thieves, yet silence from Grandia. I look over my shoulder once more.

She's still entranced. I feel bad. Honestly, I wish I knew what to do.

Grandia shakes her head, before looking toward me. Her gaze is a little more aware, perceptive. "E-Er, yes. Staves can heal burns. Severe ones may leave scars, though."

I grin. "That's pretty neat." I say, before looking forward again.

...Now would be a great time to find something else to say.

... Yeah

Anything

...

A silence fills the air, the gravity of my awkwardness holding our feet to the ground.

* * *

"I see a few trees up ahead." Wilson's words are like a torrent of rain in my parched throat. Honestly, I've been waiting for that news for hours.

For the most part, we've just been spotting a few mountains and rocks down our road, but they were a bit far off the road. Obviously, this things here for a reason, so naturally we're staying on it.

I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. I was only in Ylisse for a day, yeah, but everything there just felt so nice compared to this stupid heat and this stupid sand, and not to mention the skin on my back slowly melting off.

The trees are getting closer. Not just trees, but a forest, by the looks of it. Heh, the transition's a little rough, but I have no room to complain. Forest is forest, after all.

... I gaze up at the people around me. They're all sighing their own sighs of relief.

Honestly, I have barely talked to any of them the whole time. I've been... Unsure... Of what to say. I mean, I'm from another world. What common conversational ground is there to thieves, nobles, and deserters?

... What are we even going to do when we're all done here? Are we going to go our separate ways?

I frown. Maybe now's as good a time as any to speak up.

My hand lifts up and I gently cough into it. My throat cleared, I ask "So what are we going to do after all of this is over?"

Everyone stops. And they all look toward me, their gazes all a bit puzzled.

I guess I'm not the only one who hasn't thought about it?

I can't help but chuckle. I guess we've all been a little distracted.

I look toward Wilson, silently fishing for a response.

"Honestly," he says "I don't have anyone really to go to, so..." he pauses, a laid-back grin soon spreading across his stubbly face. "I'd like to join you, if it's alright!"

I laugh. "Sure thing, buddy."

Honestly, I don't know where I'll go. I haven't even seen my so-called father at all. Maybe he's up at Ylisse, or still imprisoned? Whatever identity I had in this world, maybe it's for the best that remnants of this person's life be gone.

... This is someone else's life..?

"We're wanderers." Jafray shrugs. "We don't really have a place to go either."

Calina sports a happy-go-lucky grin and just giggles for a moment. "Traveling buddies! Sounds like fun!"

I pause, looking over my shoulder. "Grandia... I guess you want us to take you back to your fath-!"

Panic spreads throughout my body as I see her eyes fill with tears.

She falls to her knees, crying out.

I anxiously glance at Jafray, who, while probably less panicked, still looks blatantly concerned.

I rush to Grandia's side, just as quickly dropping to my knees and looking her in the eyes.

"They... They killed them!" she cries, her hands covering her face.

I feel an urge to lean forward. Whether it be to put my hand on her shoulder or just hug her, I can't tell.

But I hold back. It feels like a bad idea.

Calina rushes to her side as well, going ahead to do the very things I considered.

Grandia buries her head in her shoulders, her sobs now muffled by Calina's thick scarf.

"Shhh... Shh..." she coos the crying cleric. "It's okay..."

Her expression is half protective, half 'great now my clothes are all messy'.

* * *

It was sundown when we finally reached civilization again. It felt so refreshing.

Grandia managed to calm down, thank the gods, and I guess now we can finally take our time to relax.

This village isn't too much. Only a few buildings, but I suppose it makes up for it with the large amount of merchant carts scattered across the street. I suppose that's what the desert road was for. Perhaps some kind of trail?

I look to a nearby inn, and thank the gods, there's a chair at the front of it. I dash for it, and just as I reach it I maneuver, turning around and throwing myself into it.

The chair creaks a bit, but luckily, it's sturdy. The relief is instantaneous, as though my bones are squealing in delight.

Wilson makes his way next to me, quickly collapsing onto an adjacent chair.

This chair isn't so lucky. The legs snap, and fall to the floor. Wilson is sent tumbling to the ground beside them.

I laugh, rather loudly at that. A few look my way, and begin to join in on the laughter.

Before long we have a whole village laughing at the poor man's expense.

... Of course I'm the first to stop and ask "Wait hold on do we have money?"

Wilson, now red-faced and probably hating this village, stares toward me in utter fear.

I look toward the thieves. "You... Uh... Got those spares?"

Jafray sighs, before digging in his rather bloated bag and pulling out a bronze lance. He makes his way to the front of the inn.

There stands a rather furious middle-aged woman, someone who I can only assume to be the innkeeper, tapping her foot.

The thief gives a nervous grin, silently holding out the lance as a sort of peace offering.

The innkeeper snatches it, glares at him, and storms back into the building. The doors shut behind her.

At that point I realize I should probably get out of the chair which I do, and gaze at the newly gathered crowd around us.

Out of the corner of my eye, I feel something. I look, but it's gone. Curious.

"So there goes our chances of staying at this inn?" I ask.

Wilson goes in to make sure.

Wilson exits with a black eye.

Yeesh. Tough crowd.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Calina in front of a cart, chatting with a merchant. She passes over a weapon, an axe, by the looks of it, and in return, the merchant hands over a large stack of... Something.

The thief makes her way over, so luckily this isn't really a plot point.

"What are these leather... things?" Grandia asks. And at that moment, I look to the poor, innocent noble girl.

I look toward her and I pity her, for she does not know what a sleeping bag is. She doesn't know the feeling of what is quite literally sleeping in a bag.

"Sleeping bags." I grin. "But leather ones don't sound too comfortable..."

Wilson chuckles. "Better than dirt."

* * *

The sun's only lying there on the horizon, only narrowly peeking from behind the mountains.

We picked a nice little clearing off at the edge of the village, just a few yards behind the inn. Juuust far enough to where they won't get annoyed and tell us to leave.

"There's daylight left. Want to do anything?" I ask.

Jafray pauses, pacing a bit across our chosen clearing, before pointing to my side.

I glance to my right. My sword? "What about it?" I ask.

He rolls his eyes. "Yeah. Your sword. How good are ya with it?"

I pause. I definitely have never touched a sword before. Sure, they're cool, and I had a wooden sword and shield when I was, like, eight, but that doesn't mean I have experience.

...Unless watching it counts...?

I shrug. "You want to spar?"

He smirks. "Sure thing."

The thief walks to the edge of the clearing. "But thing of this as more of an... Evaluation, if anything."

Very well. I reach for Draiotoll, and careful unsheathe it. The sound of the metal scraping gives me a hint of goosebumps.

"Yeah, no. We ain't sparring with real things here." he says.

Go figure. Jafray tosses me a rather large stick, which I stumble a bit to catch, but eventually succeed in seizing.

It's sword-like in shape, I suppose.

"So... Uh..." I back to the edge of the clearing. "Are we doing this to like the count of three? Lessons or just practice fights?"

"Look, I just need a good feel of your fighting style. With a fancy blade like that I'm sure you've fought quite a few guys."

...

Well this is awkward.

I glance over, noticing Calina is over at the side of the clearing, sitting beside a tree.

Because just what I need: to have a pretty girl watch me get beaten up.

... It's times like this I just wish I had Mary-Sue powers.

Jafray holds his stick in front of him. "Alright, go!"

Huh?! In a flash, Jafray shifts his stick to a backhanded grasp, and begins sprinting at me.

I try to hop out of the way, but the stick grazes my side.

"C'mon," the thief mutters. "A blow like that would slow you down." He hops backwards, going a disturbing distance into the air and landing back at the other side of the clearing.

I blink. That's right, isn't it? Apparently we can jump super high in this universe?

I smirk. "I'm ready."

In a flash, he's heading back toward me. His arm is rearing back. I lift my stick up and run toward him.

He's intimidated. I pull my arm back, and swing as hard as I can.

... Huh? Where did my footing go...?

... Why am I looking at the sky?

My back slams against the ground, and I feel my breath knocked out of my lungs.

"Alright, so I can see you're more of an attacker." Jafray holds an opened palm out in front of me.

"That would be a great conclusion if I could actually hit you." I take his hand, and pull myself back onto my feet.

"Okay, it's obvious you've never fought before. But you seem to have potential, at least?"

"...Hey, you're the one that's setting your expectations too high. " I groan, and at of the corner of my eye spot Calina chuckling quietly.

"No, there's definitely a workable fighter in there. You're not really afraid of getting hurt. Most people are too scared to try to fight back."

Yeah, I'm not afraid of death. The fact I've been transported into a Fire Emblem fanfiction and have been recruited by an omnipotent old man pretty much tells me there's an afterlife.

I shrug, pacing toward a tree. I lean against it, folding my arms. "Eh, what's a couple of stab wounds going to do to me?"

Calina rolls her eyes. "That depends where."

Wilson emerges from behind a couple of trees. "Hey, Jaf. Maybe you should let me try and train him."

"...Jaf?" Jafray groans. "...You haven't earned that yet. But fine. Go ahead. Cali and I are gonna go back into town for a bit anyways."

Wilson tilts his head. " _Reaaaally?_ I break you out of prison and I can't even give ya a nickname?" Aaaand the thieves are gone. "Oh come on!"

I glance around the clearing. The sun's not visible, but it's still barely light enough to see. "Sooooo..."

Wilson groans. "Eh, it's pretty late right now anyways. I'm just gonna teach you the old Plegian military way."

He approaches and stops, before leaning toward me. He smiles, mouthing a couple of frightening words.

"Let's go for a run."

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah. I can't say I've written too much lately. I most certainly can't make any promises on whether I'll have another update within the next year. But if I do, then good for us.**

 **At the rate we're going there's going to be an Awakening remake before I get back to where the original story was.**

 **...But will it ever go there? Who knows? Obviously I've changed a lot in this rewrite.**


	5. Friendship

**A/N: Huh? What? I didn't wait a year?**

* * *

I awaken to the heat gleaming over my face.

Overtaken by the annoyance of the sunlight, I groggily try to climb out of the sleeping bag. Naturally, I fail.

"C'mon buddy!" Wilson laughs a laugh that feels like a dagger lodged into my sore muscles. "It's time to do our morning run!"

... Did I mention I'm sore? Because I'm sore.

I try wiggle my way out of the leather. Speaking of this leather, it feels awesome right now. Situations where leather feels comfortable enough to sleep on shouldn't just be ignored.

I groan, very, _very_ loudly. I think I heard Calina sigh a few feet away.

I think my foot's stuck. I look up to Wilson, trying my best to sport an adorable "please spare me of my torture" look.

He shakes his head, before grabbing my arm and literally yanking me out of the sleeping bag. There's a rather loud ripping noise as my foot is freed from the bag.

I look down at the bag, and back at Wilson. "Look what you did." I mutter, my voice empty and monotonous. "I just wanted some sleeeeeeeeep."

"Hey, look, I said I'd train you. You can best your arse I'm gonna train you!"

"...but sleep... Can't we do it tomorrow?"

"If you skip training all of the time, you won't be ready for battle. The last thing we want is for you to be killed by the first sword to swing at you."

"But... Why the running laps?"

"Endurance, my friend. Battles can go on for hours sometimes. If you get tired after a few minutes of running, how are you supposed to survive?"

"I mean, that's fair, but-!"

"No buts!" Wilson chuckles inbetween words, "But I need you to run another three laps around town. Then we'll do five more, but jogging backwards."

"Nooooooo-!"

* * *

Regrettably, I do.

Just as regrettably, I empty the contents of my stomach all over the otherwise pretty looking grass.

"Alrighty, so that was a nice, clean workout." Wilson chuckles. "I usually do things that break more of a sweat."

... I pitifully glance up at Wilson, my body meanwhile drenched in sweat.

"So, ready for your two hundred push-u-... Ravel? Where are you going?"

"Away."

"Oh c'mon, we're just getting started!"

"Nah, I'm just ending."

"Ugh, fine. Suit yourself. But tomorrow we're going to double the laps."

"Noooooooo-!"

* * *

After a quick jump into a lake to rid myself of my disgusting smell, I decided to take a walk into town.

It's a little uncomfortably busy, and I daresay I'm having a bit of trouble finding any of the others. Grandia went for a stroll, I think. I _could_ look for her.

... Y'know... For safety.

But no. There's too many merchants around here for her to be in any real danger, and I doubt she'd go very far at all.

Jafray and Calina are off doing something, as usual. I'm not quite sure where. Maybe they're fetching a good bargain on the rest of the spare weapons.

I sigh, pacing down the rather busy street. I eye the nearby buildings.

Shops, inns-

Okay that innkeeper is staring angrily at me. I'm going to walk a little faster.

There's a couple of normal houses, tents, and... I think this is a tavern?

... Am I technically old enough to drink?

I mean, I wasn't old enough before, but even then I never tried.

...Medieval times probably had a different age for it if they had one at all, and this body...

It's a different from my old body in a number of ways. Like, my skin is smooth and I don't have as many freckles and imperfections.

But I think I'm shorter. Not that I can tell, given how I don't necessarily have anything accurate to compare it to. Maybe everyone else is taller? All I know is that I think I'm a little farther from six feet than I used to be.

Yeah, not that I care too much for drinking alcohol.

I shrug, and walk past the building...

Followed by a quick collision with a passerby.

It turns out that not looking where you're going results in head-on collisions. What a twist!

...Not as twisted as my sense of humor.

"Agh! Damnit! Watch where you're going!" the man in front of me yells.

As I react to most rude responses, I look up, my mouth twisted in a sneer about to spew a bunch of snarky remarks.

... Huh.

That blond hair...

That tanned skin...

Them bushy eyebrows...

The man pauses, as if his gears are turning just as much as mine are.

He raises an eyebrow, his face no longer filled with annoyance, but rather an increasing expression of surprise.

"So... Uh... You wouldn't happen to be named Geoff, would you?"

"... Alan?!"

"Oh my god, you're actually here." I sigh a sigh of sighful insight. Whatever that means.

I feel more relieved than surprised, I'll admit. I mean, I guess I have read enough self-inserts to predict the standard 'oh hey your friends are here too' twist.

"Holy-! You wouldn't believe how happy I am to see you!" he grabs my hand and lifts me back onto my feet, before quickly embracing me in a manner that I promise you is completely platonic.

"Phew... I suppose we've got a lot to talk about."

"Yeah, you bet! I've been in Ylisse for a couple of months now. I ended up meeting a couple of guys- long story- but now we're in a sort of mini-mercenary group."

Good lord, a couple of months?! So... I'm not the main character, I guess? A little disheartening, maybe, but I guess it's the opportunity that counts?

"Hrm? You're with people?" Funny, I also ended up in a group. Not really mercenaries, at least from what we've decided, but we're... Friends I guess?"

"You guess? How long have you known them?"

"Eh... A week? We kinda all broke out of prison together."

"...Wait wha-!"

"Nah, enough about me, we should get our friends to meet up or something like that."

"Oh, sounds good! We've all been kinda been hanging out in the tavern for the past couple of hours. 'Cuz, you know, legal drinking age."

I glance at the tavern. Soooo... I probably would have found them anyways if I was a drunkard.

Fair enough. "I'll go grab-!"

"What're you planning on grabbing?" suddenly Calina is standing next to me, a surprise that admittedly startles me.

"Eep! A simple tap on the shoulder works." I say. "But hey, at least that's one less person to find."

"Who's the blond guy?" the thief asks, pacing a bit close to Geoff. She grabs his arm, an armored one, and gazes at it. "My, my. Quite a lot of scars." she smirks, before gazing at him. "I can see you're quite the fighter..."

Geoff's taking the compliment I can see. He's smiling cockily, albeit maybe a bit confused.

Yeah, it's probably better I stop this.

"Yeah, sorry Calina. He's an old friend. You can't steal his money."

"Tsk. Fine." the girl pouts, before walking presumably to meet up with Jafray.

Agh! "Wait, Calina! Can you get the others for me and tell them to meet up at the tavern?"

She stops and turns toward me, scoffing. "You know, Jaf and I don't really have the foundest memories of alcohol. And I doubt that noble girl is quite the drinker."

"... We're not there for the alcohol, I just want you all to meet some people."

"Fair enough. But that'll cost your allowance."

"I'm getting allowance?"

"Not anymore." she says. Alright, I can't help but at least chuckle.

And then she's gone.

"Ohhhh... You're _those_ guys." Geoff soon says.

I blink. "What do you mean?"

"There was apparently a group of misfits that walked into town the other day. A couple of thieves, a noblewoman, and some armed men. They seemed that they were in a group."

"I'm going to take a wild guess and assume that's us."

"The noble's a cutie too, from what I've heard."

"I-I mean... She-"

* * *

Before long I'm in the tavern, being escorted by Geoff to a table where a couple of men are seated.

There's a large one on the left, definitely bigger than anyone else I've seen in Ylisse stuffing his mouth with food. Bulky as he is, he's a bit short, with a rather thick jawline and short, scruffy golden hair.

The one on the left is clearly like an opposite to him. Unlike the other man, this one's pretty thin, tall, and has smooth, long black hair tied into a ponytail in the back. Despite the admittedly kind of intimidating features, he looks pretty charismatic, giving a friendly wave as I approach.

"I suppose your friends will be here in a bit." Geoff says, before turning to his two allies. "Hey guys. I'd like introduce you to a friend of mine."

"Hey." the tall one smiles, holding out an opened palm, which I shake.

The large one, still eating, looks up from his plate, but smiles. "Hello" I think he tries to say, but his voice is muffled by the mouthful of sandwich.

"Anyways, this is A-!"

"I go by Ravel, actually." I glance at him, a bit nervous. Going by an alias? That doesn't sound suspicious at all.

"Weird, but whatever." Geoff shrugs. "Anyways, the big guy is Joshua. But we call him Gorge. The one on the right is Niro. He's got a wyvern tied up in the woods down south.

... Oh, that's the direction that Grandia said she was...

... Well then.

"Why the face?" Niro tilts his head.

"Your wyvern... It isn't by any chance... Aggressive, right?"

"Nah. He doesn't bother people that don't mean any harm. Don't worry, he's never hurt any passerby."

I sigh, relieved.

I sigh again when Jafray and the others enter the tavern.

Jafray and Calina look bored, as usual, while Grandia looks a bit disgusted. But Wilson looks a bit intrigued.

Regardless, I motion them over to our table.

Jafray's the first one here, and quickly pulls out a chair and sits next to us. He immediately turns toward me

"Alright, Cali's told me that you know these guys." Jafray says, leaning back and folding his arms. "How long've you known them?"

"I've known Geoff here about... Eleven years? I just met these two, though." I motion toward the two mercenaries sitting across from me.

I glance over, noticing Gorge blushing, his gaze fixiated on Grandia. "Oh, m-man. They weren't kidding. She is really cute."

... Oh lordy.

Grandia folds her arms around her chest, before redirecting her gaze to the floor. "Thank you." she whispers.

I feel a subtle twinge of anger, one quickly satisfied by watching Geoff kick Gorge from beneath the table.

"So, you're mercs?" Wilson chimes in, eager to displace the awkwardness caused by Gorge and his bluntness.

Geoff nods. "Yep, sure are. We've gotten quite a few contracts in the month we've been together. Made a nice bit of money from it too."

"Darn, I should have pickpocketed you when I had the chance..." Calina remarks, obviously joking- I think- but takes the time to chuckle confidently.

"Would it be alright if I join you?" I shrug. "I've got a fancy blade and have gotten a little bit of practice.

Wilson rolls his eyes. "Yeah, one sparring match and two hours of exercise. Heh, if you're planning on joining them you're gonna need my training regiment."

I panic, looking toward Geoff, mouthing the letters 'H-E-L-P', but he laughs.

"Oh, so everyone's hopping on the merc train?" Jafray folds his arms, smirking slyly. "I suppose me and Calina are gonna follow the money. It's the least we can do after you got us out."

I pause, before glancing up toward Grandia. "Hey. Would you like to join us?"

Grandia stays silent, but soon lowers her head. When I see a couple of tears, I feel an ounce of panic.

Yet before long, she looks back up, and- surprisingly- is smiling, her eyes watering.

"I would love to join you all." Grandia mutters.

I smile, glad to see that she is at least doing better.

So I turn to Geoff, just as all of the others do.

"Eh, so what's our first contract?" Jafray asks, quick to the point. Probably wants the money.

Geoff pulls out a small slip of paper. "You're in luck. We just got a request today. Hope you like Risen."

"...What are Risen?" I hear Calina ask. At that point, I felt a little bad for her.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm hoping to at least get around to updating more. I've kept looking back at this story and frankly I've not wanted to disappoint people.**

 **Luckily I can say that I'm getting a far better grasp of the characters and their dynamics this time around, as well as different ways their personalities can develop and influence the story.**

 **Because let's face it: In the original story, I could have changed the personalities of almost any of the OCs to something completely different and it would not have changed the story very much at all.**

 **I want them to seem a bit more human, in terms of both flaws and quirks, so that at the very least you can identify a character by their dialogue.**

 **Give your thoughts if you'd like. Anything you'd recommend for me to do?**


	6. Mission

**A/N: So here's my first fight scene written in years. I can safely say it's better than anything I've done before.**

* * *

"So how many assignments have you gotten anyways?" I ask. The road to the village is pretty long. I suppose the natural thing to do is chat with Geoff to help time pass by.

"About ten. So far it hasn't been anything too difficult. Ranged from guarding someone to just getting rid of a couple of bandits." Geoff responds. The trees are sort of bending over the path, creating quite a lot of shade. It doesn't help that the sun's only just beginning to rise.

"Neat. Neat. So you've fought before?" How long's it even been since I talked to him, even outside of Ylisse? A few months? It's depressing, I've drifted away from plenty of people.

"No worries. It's nothing too difficult. Just don't get hit first."

I cringe, before admittedly attempting to swallow down the fear in my chest. Because, y'know, this is the actual first time I'll be fighting for my life.

"Ravel, you do not have to worry. I had gone and bought a healing staff while I was in town." Grandia smiles, and I feel the fear dissipate a bit.

I smile back. "Okay, that's great. Thank you." I smile back, not quite sure what else to say.

We keep on walking a few moments, uncomfortably silent.

...I should change the subject. I don't know what else to do here.

"How did you even get so far without a healer, anyways?" I ask. I think Grandia's already walked away, but that doesn't stop Geoff from chiming back in.

"Oh, we just packed a ton of elixirs. Those usually help with some of the more minor wounds. They're not very good in the long term, but they ease the pain and stop the bleeding. There's usually a healer in most villages that takes care of us when our contracts are done."

"So that would explain the scars, I guess?"

"Yeaaaaah... I'm not too careful, I'll admit, or at least in the beginning I wasn't. I kind of had to learn to use a sword on the fly."

"Really? What happened to you anyways?"

Geoff stops in his tracks, his face suddenly growing serious.

"What is-!" Geoff shushes me before I can finish.

Then I hear it. Flapping, I think.

I suppose Niro has found his way back.

I'm quickly proven correct, as in a few moments, a giant, black figure swoops down from the sky, knocking down a few tree limbs during its swift descent.

"How's the village?" Geoff asks, his gaze directed on the wyvern rider.

"I'm afraid I saw a bit of fire." Niro shakes his head, wiping a bit of a sweat of his brow, before taking the time the pet his wyvern. "I don't know if there's any survivors. You sure you wanna head down there?"

Geoff folds his arms. "If there's people in trouble, that's more of a reason to go down there."

"Right." Niro nods. He taps his wyvern's side, prompting it to stop. Geoff promptly makes his way over to him, exchanging a few words with him.

Despite being a giant death lizard, something about Rysor's kind of adorable. I'm not sure why at all. His eyes glow in the dark, he has razor fangs, by all means I should be intimidated, but yet he's just kinda huggable.

Maybe it's because I saw him frolicking in a small meadow back by town. Because, yeah, I guess a giant death lizard rolling around in the grass is kind of cute?

It isn't long before Geoff and Niro nod in agreement over something. I'm not quite sure what exactly it is, but now Geoff's fastwalking back over here.

"Hey, sorry buddy, but I'm gonna go ride with Niro to see if we can find any survivors while there's still time. You and the others just meet us there." Geoff pauses, before directing his now fierce gaze behind us. Gorge is walking a few paces behind us, a large, bloated bag held at his back. The others are over a few feet behind him.

Geoff points at him, a gesture which quickly gets the knight's attention. "Alright, we're getting close to battle time. Put on your armor and tell the others to get ready. We're about a ten minute's run from the village."

"Got it." Gorge nods, and quickly unstraps his bag, before unpacking a couple of small pieces of his armor.

With that, Geoff grabs hold of Rysor and heaves himself onto the saddle. Luckily there's a nice bit of space behind Niro on the wyvern.

In an instant, the beast takes off, an act that sends a powerful wave of gust booming across the path. This, in fact, is pretty strong, or at least strong enough to unexpectedly knock me off of my feet.

I take a second to catch my breath, before soon lifting myself back onto my feet.

I sigh. Ten minute's run? So we're closer to my potential death than I thought...

I'm nervous, I'll admit, but I suppose I was nervous enough to warrant shivers. Those shivers were enough to warrant Wilson making his way over to me.

"That's right, it's your first fight!" he laughs, a loud, unintentionally disheartening laugh. "No worries, Risen aren't too much trouble. Far easier to deal with than a normal fighter."

"You've fought them before?" That strikes me as a little weird... Not only did Risen originate from Plegia... I think... But the fact that Plegian army has had to fight them strikes me as a bit unusual.

"Yep. Trust me. They may seem pretty intimidating at first, but they're pretty dumb and all it usually takes is a solid hit in the vitals to wipe 'em out. I couldn't think of a better first battle."

I sigh. "Yeah, I think a best first battle is no battle, personally."

"You and me both, buddy. But that's just how things go." Wilson begins walking a bit further ahead, but soon comes to a stop. "Watch out for those Revenants, though. They're crafty. They can melt into puddles and hide in plain sight, from what I've heard. But hey, they're good practice."

He's gone, went to catch up to the others who are now speeding ahead of us. Even Grandia, surprisingly, is keeping up with them.

... dontstare donstare-!

* * *

Before long, we arrive at a small clearing. We know we're here, that's for sure, from the burning embers scattered across the forest ahead.

Fire, it's always fire.

But I will say, running those laps helped, surprisingly. Even though I'm still a bit sore from yesterday's training, I can still say that I'm slowly getting a bit more stamina. This run felt like nothing in comparison.

I huff a rather stressed sigh as our cleric slowly walks next to me.

"Gods, this is exhausting." Grandia huffs. "I am quite glad I don't have to do Wilson's training. " she looks up to me, her face full of pity. "Terribly sorry."

"No problem." I sigh. "You ready for this? You can still head back to town if you'd like."

"As if." she scoffs. "Implying I have never been in battle before?"

"Oh... You have...? Can't say I knew that."

"I have a bit of experience, at least. I can use magic, remember?"

... She's a cleric that can use magic? Well, wow... I really am the only one who has no idea what they're doing.

 _You'll be fine, I'm sure of it._

Oh. Jeremiah? It's been a few days since you've talked to me. A bit of a weird moment to do it.

 _Well, I can explain a bit more tonight._

Right, right. Obviously I have a few more questions, like, I dunno, why one of my best friends is here. Kinda important.

 _Nevermind that, here they come!_

Oh sure I believe-!

Hm? I glance toward the burning forest, soon spotting a thick rustling in the shrubs around us.

The leaves are pushed aside, and none other than Geoff is soon rushing out of the forest. Wrapped in his arms is a little girl, panicked and brusied, clearly injured, her eyes closed and clearly frightened. A few other civilians, kids and teenagers, by the looks of it, are following his lead.

But the rustling isn't stopping. In fact, it's only getting faster, louder.

In an instant, something pounces out the shrubbery, straight at me. Something large, formidable, razor-sharp claws slowly extending out of it's rather murky looking hands.

Oh, just my luck. A revena-!

* * *

 **"Damnit! Why can't I land a hit on you?!"**

 **"Hey, watch your language! ...But the problem is, you keep trying to just overpower me. You're not using technique."**

 **"Technique is supposed to be important?"**

 **"Obviously. You need to learn to-!"**

* * *

"DODGE!"

Gah?! Next thing I know I'm sidestepping an attack I didn't even realize was coming at me, as though my feet were moving on their own.

...I don't know who said that. Wilson I thi-!

"OH MY GODS WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" ... That one was definitely Calina.

The subsequent stream of "KILL IT! KILL IT! KILL IT! KILL IT!" was also definitely her.

The revenant glares at me a bit more, before learning back and shooting a death glare at me.

I reach for my side, feeling at my hip, before quickly grabbing hold of Draiotoll's hilt.

The thing jumps at me rather quickly, to which I quickly respond by unsheathing my sword.

I try to block it's claws with my blade. I'm luckily successful... With its left hand, which gets its claws wrapped around the sword. The other hand, on the other hand, reaches over the blade and scratches at me. In doing so, it caused a rather deep cut across its arm, but it seemingly remains unfazed.

Can't say the same about my shoulder. The Risen's claws reach onto me, causing a rather deep scratch from my right shoulder to my forearm. Glad I'm a lefty.

I cringe, before looking back up at the Risen.

Trying my hardest to ignore the "KILL IT! KILL IT! KILL IT!" still ringing in the background, I try to think of something.

My first instinct is to immediately try and kick the Revenant in the groin. Unsuccessful. It doesn't care. Peachy.

I try again, this time going for a kick to the chest in order to push it away. It works this time.

From around us I see fighting has broken out all over, the others getting into fights with other Risen that have approached.

The Revenant charges at me again, but this time I take the effort to sidestep it.

In a rather creepy manner, it's whole body seems to bend toward me, its glowing red eyes practically staring into my soul.

It charges at me again.

I lift Draiotoll to my chest, and without thinking, I charge at it as well.

It's not chickening out...

I'm not chickening out...

We collide, which is about as painful as you would expect.

My sword quickly pierces the zombie's chest, an act that prompts a rather loud roar to emerge from its stitched mouth.

A large bellow of purple cloud starts bellowing from the creature's chest, causing the revenant to freak out and begin violently scratching at me.

Oh god what the hell is this

I thought it was like mist or something but its more like wet dust.

gods can't breath-

ACK!

After a couple of moments, the clawing ceases, and shortly afterward the purple cloud dissipates.

"KILL THEM! KILL THEM! GET THEM AWAAAAAY!" I think Calina's surrounded! I better help her.

I open my eyes.

... Am I blind? Oh gods, it went for the eyes, didn't it?!

I quickly grab my face. Oh. It's wet. ...This is blood, isn't it?

...oh dear. I think the adrenaline is wearing off.

OOWOW OKAY YEAH THATS A LOT OF PAIN IN A LOT OF PLACES.

"Dear gods! Someone pass him something!" Okay, that was someone?! I can't tell. Too much pain.

Something hits my face, a cloth of some kind, and I'm immediately overwhelmed with a tingling sensation.

...Okay. I grip my shoulder, and although it's wet, it's not really in pain anymore. But I'm a little... Dizzy? Does this thing restore blood loss?

I wipe my face quickly, and throw the cloth to the ground.

My eyes are still a bit sore, but at least I can see, and...

Oof. There's quite a lot of chaos going on right now.

"Good job, my apprentice! Way to go get 'em!" Wilson yells. I never agreed to this, but, okay, sure.

I rush to the nearest person's aid, in this case, Calina, who is currently screeching at two fighters who are trying to swing at her.

... oh my. She can dodge.

She's literally jumping on their axes midswing. I don't even think she's fighting back, just... _dodging._

I tighten my grip on Draiotoll- surprising, I half expected to have dropped it- and run toward the pair of Risen.

I lift Draitoll in front of me, and ram the blade straight into the back of one of the axemen. Luckily they are distracted, so I manage to land a fatal blow on this one.

... And now it's melting.

...And now I can't see.

...AND NOW THERE'S AN AXE MY LEFT SHOULDER OKAY FINE!

The smoke clears, followed by the immediate sight of the Risen rearing another blow, eyes glowing red, bloodied axe lifted in the air.

Something flies from the side of the clearing and lodges itself into the Risen's neck. This one explodes into a cloud of purple smoke as well.

Something falls to the soil. A dagger. Hrm.

I look around, only to spot Jafray off to the side, a few more similarly deadly looking daggers fit between his fingers. He throws a confident, cocky smile at me before spinning around and slashing a Risen in the chest.

I feel another tingling sensation in my arm. Yeah, I _was_ injured, you'd think it would be easier to remember.

"Thanks Grandia." I mutter, eyeing the battlefield for more Risen. An Archer, perfect. Sarcastically, of course.

It looks up at me, its bizarre, masked face growling at me. It quickly lifts its bow, before-!

Wait, why's it turning?!

I look over my shoulder, and only then do I remember that Grandia is in fact on the battlefield.

The archer fires, and in the heat of the moment, I find my untapped protective instincts kicking in.

I hop in front of the incoming arrow, which thankfully doesn't hit Grandia. ...Because I'm the meat shield here.

Okay, I'll give it credit, it didn't hit me in the shoulder. But the elbow of my right arm isn't very safe.

...Still glad I'm a lefty. But crap. I cant use my left hand. Am I supposed to pull this out or something?!

Damnit! Tip's too thick. Can't worry about it. Gotta focus.

...But damn that's a lot of blood.

GAH, OKAY! HERE COMES THE PAIN!

Okay okay okay okay. Just focus on murdering the zombie that tried to hurt the person you find cute.

... ALRIGHT, I CAN SEE THIS IS WORKING!

"TAKE THIS!" I yell, before rushing madly at the archer. He reacts about as well as you'd expect. I take my blade and slash it across his chest, which knocks him off balance, followed immediately by an immediate thrust of the blade into its chest.

The Risen dissipates like the rest of them, and I stop to catch my breath.

So anger and pain combined help me kill things? Who would have thought?

...Aaaaannd OKAY THE PAIN'S STILL HERE.

"Oh gods, Ravel!" Grandia rushes to my side and grabs hold of my arm.

I'm sure I'd be embarrassed if I could feel my arm and wasn't bleeding out.

"You aren't hurt, right?" I grin a grin forced enough that I feel as though my teeth are cracking beneath the pressure.

"No, no, I'm fine, but this is serious! The arrow's hit an artery!" She pauses, before turning toward me with panicked, still really pretty blue eyes.

... Why am I like this? I have near-fatal injuries and I'm still over here thinking to myself how beautiful she is.

"Hold on, this is going to hurt!" Hm? What did she say? I was busy having an internal mono-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGH!"

* * *

 **A/N: Oh my. Not even a week of waiting? Am I even the same person?!**

 **That's a great question. But not one I intend to answer.**

 **I looked back and realized how absolutely childish and ultimately pointless my desperation for reviews was. _ESPECIALLY_ in the original story. It's no wonder people were silent, it was obvious that I had little clue what I was doing.**

 **I mean, Change of Fate had a couple of moments that I thought weren't executed too badly, but most of that story is outright unreadable and cringe-inducing to me now. It was obvious I was writing things on the fly and not really planning a whole lot; a fact that I can safely say is no longer true. I've got quite a lot planned for this rewrite, far more than what Change of Fate was ever going to get to.**

 **I intend to get somewhere this time, and hoo boy, it's going to be something.**


End file.
